Mission Viejo beats Basha with help from controversial fumble call

High school football battle between top teams in California and Arizona is influenced by officials' clear missed call

Mission Viejo got a big win over Basha on Friday night, but it wasn't without controversy. / Joe Bergman

Mission Viejo and Basha battled it out in what turned out to be a one-score high school football game Friday night, and one whopper of a missed call influenced the outcome.

Mission Viejo (California) outlasted Basha (Arizona) in a toe-to-toe football game that came down to the wire, but a controversial call in the first half muddied the outcome a bit.

Multiple videos show Mission Viejo clearly fumbled in the first half, and though the Diablos didn't score, Basha would have had the ball in terrific field position if officials made the correct call.

Here's the best view of the play we found, where Vance Spafford jets down the sideline for a big gain but coughs it up at the end:

Basha @ Mission Viejo

Refs really showin Basha that tough love!!

Ruled the receiver down by contact..

Yall let me know pic.twitter.com/ZswkmcyCVJ

— Just Chilly (@JUSTCHILLY) September 21, 2024

Spafford is ruled down by contact, Basha recovers, and the Bears react in more restrained fashion than the people within earshot of the videographer.

Mission Viejo was leading 17-14 at the time, and though the Diablos didn't score on the drive, Basha would have gotten the ball around midfield with a chance to tie or take the lead before halftime.

Basha fought and stayed in the game from there but never had a lead from that point on as Mission Viejo hung on to win 31-28.

Check out SBLive/SI's live updates recap from Mission Viejo's win over Basha.

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-- Mike Swanson | swanson@scorebooklive | @sblivesports

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